Museo Pambata

Thanks to Irah (ice9van) - am writing this review now :) Learned that her cousins had a blast in the museum this week after learning from my blog.

Yep, Museo Pambata is great for kids - a hands-on discovery museum for children - the first in the Philippines.

My first time in the Museum was last February during the 1st ACMC. The First Asian Children's Museum Conference, themed "Children's Museums as Bridges of Peace" was pioneered by the Philippines' Museo Pambata. It was held at the Manila Hotel in February 2008 with over 150 museum workers and educators from all over the Philippines and other countries.

The Museo is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm. On Sundays, they open from 1 pm to 5 pm and they are closed on Mondays and other official holidays.

Entrance fee for children and adults is 100 pesos. But for residents of Manila (with valid ID), the museo is FREE on Tuesdays and 50% discount on other days.

Th good thing is the entrance is FREE for street children and infants under 2 years old), museum workers and teachers (with valid ID).

Museo Pambata is along Roxas Boulevard (right beside the US Embassy). Museo Pambata has 8 theme rooms:

KATAWAN KO (Body Works)
PAMILIHANG BAYAN (Market Place)
Craft Room
PAGLAKI KO (Career Options)
TUKLAS (Science through discovery)
BATA SA MUNDO (Children in the Global Village)
MAYNILA NOON (Old Manila)
KALIKASAN (Environment)

Aside from the theme rooms, what I love about the Museo is their many programs for children like rights of the child, literacy, health awareness, children's advocacy program and training/workshops for children.

So, if you happen to be in Manila and your children are with you - bring them to the Museo.. :)